A New Light
by Neverland14
Summary: She means nothing to him. She is just there. She only works with him. That's all Molly Hooper is to Sherlock, until circumstances lead to her being kidnapped. It wasn't till then that he realized maybe she is more to him than he thought. God forbid he feel sentiment, but then, what is this new feeling?
1. Chapter 1

Today, the sky was green. And not a bluish green. A GREEN. It wasn't a normal shade for the sky. Although, in retrospect, it wasn't a normal day either.

"I don't see why this is necessary at all!" Sherlock Holmes complained. Lestrade was driving to the vacation spot he had decided on. He had invited Sherlock Holmes, Molly Hooper, Mycroft Holmes (though he doubted he would show up), John Watson, Anderson, and Donovan (just to annoy Sherlock). John was sitting next to him, with the map. Sherlock and Molly were sitting in the back seat.

"Look Sherlock, we all need a break. I thought you would be glad to have a break" Lestrade replied, looking at Sherlock in the rearview mirror.

"Well, you were wrong. I am not happy" Sherlock said with a sneer.

"Sherlock, just say thank you" John said, scolding him

"Can none of you see that I didn't want to do this?!" Sherlock yelled

"We weren't going to leave you at home by yourself." John said, trying not to lose his temper.

"Oh, so now I'm untrustworthy?" Sherlock ask, his voice rising in anger.

"Oh, shut up. All of you. Stop squabbling like five-year-olds" said Molly snapped.

Everyone else in the car went silent. When Molly Hooper, the sweetest person on the face of the earth, gets mad, she means business. They all decided, though they were rather shocked, not to say anything. Soon they had reached the cabin.

"Now" Lestrade said standing by the door to the cabin while everyone was getting their things from the car "Anderson, Donavan, Mycroft, if he comes, and I are on the 3rd floor. The 2nd floor doesn't have any bedrooms, so John, Sherlock, and Molly are on the 1st floor. Your room will have a sheet of paper with your name on it. Get situated and meet in the living room in 20 minutes.

As Sherlock passed him he said "At least try to look like you are having fun"

"You got into a fight with your wife while trying to get custody of the dog's ashes." Sherlock said, stopping to look at him "You are here to try and forget that, but I can see that you aren't going to have an easy time with that. You are upset at your wife for not letting you have the remains of something you loved more that she did. You loved it even more than you loved her. Probably why you are getting a divorce. Made her mad that you loved a dog over her. You have too much sentiment attached to the dog to forget it. And, no, I won't pretend to have fun"

'It's going to be a long vacation.' Lestrade thought as Sherlock walked into the house. 'God, I hope he livens up. And if not, that he shuts up.'

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier" Molly said, bringing her suitcases down the stairs.

"Fine. I find it more interesting than your usual self" Sherlock said, going into his room, not even looking at her.

"Oh" Molly whispered.

"It's fine" John said, coming down the stairs right after her, trying to make her feel better. "Don't let him get to you. He's just mad that we forced him to come. And you snapping earlier was something…different…for all of us"

"I'm really am sorry. I can get carsick sometimes. It doesn't help that I didn't get enough sleep last night"

"No one cares" Sherlock said from his room.

"Sherlock!" John yelled.

"It's fine, Molly" He said looking at her sad face.

"I really don't think this is the best place for me to stay. I just make him mad" Molly said, trying very hard not to sound too hurt.

"No, no. It's ok. I promise to keep him in line." John replied. "Besides, I need someone to help me deal with _HIM_" he said gesturing to Sherlock's room. "I'll help you get settled"

"Thanks" Molly said, smiling. 'Maybe this won't be so bad' she thought. Boy was she wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ok, now that we are all gathered here I think we-"

"Why is _he _here?" Anderson said, interrupting Lestrade and pointing at Sherlock. "I thought you said he wasn't going to be here."

Everyone was sitting in the living room. There were two long couches and a fire burning in the fireplace. Sherlock was sitting in a chair closet to the fireplace. John and Molly were sitting on one couch while Anderson and Donavan were sitting on the other.

"Anderson, you become more of an imbecile every second"

"We didn't ask for the freak to be here Lestrade" Donavan said, motioning to Sherlock.

"I see you have been spending a lot of time with each other" said Sherlock, looking at Anderson and then Donavan.

"Oh, don't pretend you 'noticed' that." Anderson sneered "You probably just guessed that because we drove up here together."

"Yes, that. But also the fact that you are wearing men's deodorant"

"Of course I am! I am a man!"

"But Donavan is wearing it too." Sherlock said, smirking.

"Look!" Anderson said, rising out of his chair "I don't know what you are implying but…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Lestrade said, holding Anderson back. "Calm down. And you" he said pointing to Sherlock "Stop it."

"Stop what?" Sherlock asked, acting innocent.

'IT."

That was when all hell broke loose. Anderson and Donovan were yelling at Sherlock. Sherlock was snapping back at them. Lestrade was yelling at Anderson, Donovan, and Sherlock. John was trying to calm everyone down and Molly was just sitting there in shocked silence.

_Crack_

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Molly said looking at the cup she had just broken. Everyone turned to look at her. "I was drinking tea and it just slipped…I'll go get a rag"

"Here" John said, getting up "I'll collect the pieces of glass for you"

"Oh no, I made this mess and…"

"I insist."

Molly went into the kitchen with John following behind her. Molly grabbed a rag from under the sink and John grabbed a plastic bag. By the time they got back to the living room everyone had moved to the dining room. Molly could here Anderson complaining and Lestrade trying to keep him in line.

"Thanks for the help. It was really nice of you." Molly said, mopping up the tea off of the floor.

"It's not a problem. At least you didn't spill it on yourself." John said smiling.

Molly looked down at her jeans and her sweater to make sure he was right. Then she sighed.

"I don't like it when they fight either." John said looking at her. Molly smiled back, knowingly.

"So. Nice weather we are having" Molly said at the silent dinner table, trying to make small talk.

"The news said we are going to have a lot of snow later." John said, trying to help out.

No one replied. After another long pause…

"So, who likes this dinner we are having?" Molly said, trying again.

"The chicken is very lovely" John also said.

Another long pause…

"Well…" Molly said.

"Molly. Stop trying to make small talk. It's painful." Sherlock said, staring down at his food.

"Oh. I'm.."

"Don't apologize." Sherlock said looking up at her. "I hate it when people try to apologize"

"Sherlock!" John said, looking sternly at him.

"And I don't understand why you need to fill the silence" Sherlock said, ignoring John. "It maybe something in your past or it may because you want to have attention on yourself…"  
"It's just.."

"Which I doubt." Sherlock said, not stopping to listen. "My guess is that it has something to do with your family. Judging by your shocked look I would guess that I am right. I think that your family used to fight a lot. And not just some of your family; your parents. And it bothered you enough that you can't stand when there is silence because that meant things were very bad. Things were bad when they were too angry to talk to each other."

"I'm going for a walk." Molly said, getting up from the table. Tears were very visible in her eyes.

"It's the middle of December. It is hardly time for…" Sherlock said

"I. Am. . ." Molly said, very forcefully. She pushed her chair away and hurried to the door. She ran out and slammed it shut. Everyone looked at the window, to see her running down the dirt road.

"You have to apologize" John said, looking from the window to Sherlock

"I don't see why, all I did was…."

"SHERLOCK!" John yelled. Everyone sitting around the table jumped out of their seats in shock. Sherlock, for one of the first times in his life, looked surprised. "I don't know if she is going to come back easily. You really hurt her this time. You can't just keep pushing her around like that."

"But I do that to everyone." Sherlock said, not understanding why it was a big deal.

"But she isn't everyone. It really hurts her. She likes you."

"You like me."

"Not the way she does. If you keep pushing her, eventually she is going to break. So go apologize."

"I don't see why I have to do it."

"Because you're the one that hurt her! It will mean more to her if you do it."

Sherlock just sat there for a moment then went to get up when they all heard a blood curdling scream. They all looked at each other for a moment then ran out the door.

"Damn it Molly" Sherlock muttered "Why can't you stay out of trouble"


	3. Chapter 3

'My head!' was the first thing that come to Molly's mind as she started to wake up. 'Why does my head hurt'? Then her thoughts all came rushing back. She had been running away and a man had come up to her and asked her what was wrong. Before she had even said a syllable, she had felt a pinch at her neck, like a shot from the doctor. The last thing she remembered was looking up at the sky as it began to turn green. Then everything went black.

"Get up" said a rough voice.

"What?" Molly asked, groggily. She realized that she was in some kind of cell. She was lying on the ground with her hair in tangles.

"Get up" the man said, yanking her off of the ground. Molly saw that he was dressed in camouflage and had a gun at his side. But he looked more like a rugged fisherman than a soldier.

"Why can't I walk right?" Molly asked, as she was being dragged through the hallways outside of her cell.

"The drugs." The man said not looking at her.

She made so kind of 'hmmm' noise as she stumbled along with the guard.

Before she knew what was going on and what had happened she found herself tied in a chair in the middle of a big empty room. Or at least it would be empty except for the five other people in the room. One was the guard that had leaded her to the room. He was tall and tan. He had black hair and even blacker eyes. Another was short with bright orange hair. He had freckles all over his face and was telling the others some kind of joke. There was a blonde boy, about fifteen years old and another boy, the same age and look, but he had brown hair. Molly guessed that they were twins. And the last was an average height man with a black buzz cut. He had icy blue eyes and when he smiled at Molly, it was a cold smile. He had a large scar leading from his left temple to the left edge of his mouth. He terrified her.

"Ah" he said turning toward Molly "I see our friend has come to join the party." The moment he began to speak, everyone else in the room became silent and watched him.

"Oh, but Angelo" he said looking at the guard that had lead Molly there "we never asked our friend's name, did we?" He began to walk slowly towards her.

"I'm so sorry for the lack of hospitality" He said, smiling "My name is Grant De Luca. And who are you?"

"I….What am I doing here?"

"Ah" Grant said, chuckling. "the important question."

"Sir" Angelo said.

"What?!" Grant yelled back

"Her name is Molly Hooper. She has been seen with him many times before."

"Oh. I see….him and her are '_buddies'_?" Grant said smiling.

"I don't know who you are talking about or what you are implying…." Molly said, looking at Grant

"Oh, we aren't implying anything. I'm sure you and him are just good friends" said the red-haired man, with a slight Irish accent.

"Shut up Niall" said Grant, turning to glare at him.

"Who are you people? Why do you want me?"

"Well" Grant said "I used to be a part of the Italian Mafia and your little friend made me mad. That" he said gesturing to the fifteen year old boys "is George and Peter. Their parents got in a bad spot with the mafia. I got them to help me on my mission here instead of rot with the mafia. Think of it as a sort of _payment_. That is Angelo." He said looking at the guard. "And that is Niall, a hired assassin that I wanted on my trip here to find him. Now" he said putting his hands on Molly's and getting very close to her "what's your name again, sweetheart?"

"Molly" she said, looking at the ground

"Good girl" Grant said patting her hand "And can you tell me where he is?"

"Who?"

"I think you know who. Tell me where he is."

"I really don't know what.."

"TELL ME WHERE HE IS!" Grant said slapping her.

"I don't know who you are talking about!" she yelled desperately.

"Fine" Grant said untying her. "Then you get to stay here even longer." He grabbed her forcefully by the arm and dragged her to her cell. When they got there he threw her into it, causing her to hit the side of her face and slide down the wall.

"You get to rot in here until you tell me what I want to know" he spat.

When he was gone, Molly began to realize the real danger she was in. She could feel the tears begin to slowly slip down her face.

'I'm never going to get out of here if I don't know what he wants me to tell him.' She thought. 'He probably wouldn't even let me out if I did tell him'

"Pssssssstttt" Molly heard from the outside of her cell. She looked up to see the blonde boy standing there. He motioned that she should come closer. When she had crawled to the bars he whispered "Tell him where he is"

"But I don't know who he." Molly whispered back.

"He's..."

"George! Where are you?" Grant yelled from down the hallway.

"His name is Sherlock Holmes" George said and ran.


	4. Chapter 4

"Mycroft we don't need your help!" Sherlock yelled.

"But, brother, this matter concerns me" Mycroft said looking at him. Sherlock just made some grumbling noises and Mycroft took that as an invite to sit down.

They were all gathered in the living room of the cabin. John was sitting with Lestrade on the couch, looking worried. Lestrade had been taking notes on Sherlock's theories on the kidnapper. Anderson and Donovan were sitting on the other couch looking at the notes they had taken of the scene where Sherlock said Molly had been kidnapped. Sherlock was pacing the room trying to think.

"What have you got so far?" Mycroft asked.

"A man of average height trained in combat, but not normal combat, probably the mafia. Most likely good with drugs seeing as that was the only way they could have moved her…"

"Sherlock" Lestrade said, interrupting "Mycroft doesn't know who you are talking about. It's..."

"Molly Hooper." Mycroft replied. "Go on" he said gesturing to Sherlock.

"She fell into the grass and was hoisted into a car, probably a jeep. They took her to some location where they met up with their boss. But this wasn't just normal mafia stuff. No, this is revenge, which means that they are, or used to be a part of the mafia but they are doing this on their own. There are at least three people in their group, probably more. But I can't get a motive. They didn't just kidnapper her for the fun of it. There is a reason they took her."

"Do you remember Johnny De Luca?" Mycroft asked.

"Italian mafia. Went to jail for murder and stealing from a government official. I was the one that proved it was him."

"He died of disease."

"So?"

"It seems his brother Grant is very angry about it. He blames you for it." Mycroft said looking Sherlock hard in the eyes. "It is plausible that they took Molly to get information on you."

"Why would they take Molly?"

"Maybe it is because they saw you with her all the time at work. Maybe it is because she is a female and you seem to spend a lot of your working days at St. Bart's where she works too. Or maybe it was because they were waiting for anyone who they had seen you with to be alone and she came running. But whatever the reason, we have to find her. God knows what they have done to her already."

"I told you I don't know where he is!" Molly yelled at Grant.

She was tied in the chair again. Grant was trying to get her to tell him where Sherlock was and he was on his last nerve. He had already hit her about five times. There were bruises staring to form on her face. But she still insisted that she didn't know where he was. It infuriated Grant to no end.

"WHY NOT?!" he yelled, hitting her again.

"I fell asleep in the car. I don't know the address, I don't even know if he is still there." She said crying. "Knowing him, he's find some kind of safe place to stay."

"You stupid girl!" he said hitting her once more. "He has to come for you!"

"What makes you think that?" She said, looking at him.

"Because we've seen you with him!" he said. He was starting to doubt the fact the Sherlock would come for her.

"That doesn't mean anything." She said tearing up. "It doesn't anything."

"You have three days for him to come and find you. Three days and that are all."

"What happens if he doesn't come?"

He took out his gun and stuck it on the side of her head.

"Boom"


	5. Chapter 5

"He stayed up all night thinking" John said, gesturing to Sherlock who was lying on the couch staring at the ceiling. "I've never seen him so concentrated."

"He's trying hard to find her." Mycroft said, looking at Sherlock. "Also, he's fighting himself on this case."

"What do you mean?"

"His heart is fighting his head. He's worried that we won't get her back."

"You think he is infatuated with her?!" John said looking at Mycroft like he had sprouted horns.

"I think he likes her more then he lets on; more than even he knows"

"What are we going to do then? Just sit here and wait for him to come up with an idea?"

"We have to help in any way possible." Mycroft said looking at his little brother "He may not ask for it but he's going to need it."

"You think he's coming for you?" George asked. He was sitting outside Molly's cell while she ate her dinner. The first day had passed and nothing new had happened. She was still flinching from where she had been hit by Grant. He was getting a better aim. There were bruises all over her arms and face; there was a lump on the side of her head that was giving her trouble.

"I don't know" she said, in between bites of cold leftover soup and a state slice of bread.

They both sat awhile in silence when Peter came running.

"He's coming" he whispered hastily

"Is he going to drag me out of my cell?" Molly asked

"No. He's just checking on you" he whispered hastily. Molly nodded and crawled to the back of her cell to her 'bed'. She had been sleeping on a thin layer of hay that did nothing to keep her warm.

"You ready to talk yet?" Grant said calming approaching the bars on Molly's cell. Peter and George automatically straighten up and stood aside. Molly just looked at Grant in silence.

"You are going to have to answer eventually" Grant said walking away.

After he was gone, George looked at Molly and said "That was a close one."

"You're telling me" Molly said, looking at the way Grant had gone.

"Here" Peter said handing Molly a thick slice of bread "I got this from dinner."

"You took this? For me?"

"Well, yea. You aren't getting enough food." George said, looking at her.

"Neither are you two." She said looking at how skinny they both were "You should have this" she offered the bread to Peter, but he wouldn't take it back.

"We've been here longer. We've gotten used to the small meals." George said pushing her hand back "eat it."

"I won't be here for much longer. I still don't have the information Grant wants."

"He isn't going to kill you!" Peter said hastily.

Molly gave him a confused look. "Then what is he going to do to me?"

"Take you to a different place. He desperately wants to know where Sherlock is. He's trying to scare it out of you, but if you give him nothing to go off of, he is just going to take you somewhere else. Of course, that is when Sherlock could come rescues you."

"Rescue?" Molly giggled

"What?" George asked

"That makes it sound like I am a damsel in distress and Sherlock is my prince coming to save me."

"You don't think he will save you?" Peter asked.

"No, that's not it. It's just…"

"Just what?" George asked

"Complicated."

Both of the boys tilted their heads and looked very confused.

"He doesn't like me like that." She explained. "I'm not some damsel that he is trying to impress and save. I'm not important to him. I don't count."

"If you didn't matter to him, you wouldn't have been kidnapped" Peter said.

Molly just looked at Peter and then at George. She was silent for awhile as she thought. The two boys could see her eyes glaze over as she went deep into her thoughts. She was sniffling and rubbing her hands together to keep them warm.

"So" Molly said breaking the silence and turning to look at them "what your story?"  
"What do you mean?" George said

"I don't think two boys at the age of fifteen would want to join the mafia. You are way too underfed to be a part of the mafia by choice. So, you must be prisoners. How did you get here?"

"Our parents were in debt to the mafia." George explained, sitting down. Peter sat down right next to him. "I'm not sure what they were in debt for. But, we grew up with the mafia. Ever since I remember I've been told that I have to do what the mafia wants me too. That I own them."

"That's terrible. You should at least be told why you are here. For all you know, you aren't in debt to the mafia."

"But we can't get out." Peter said, looking at her. "There is no way out of the mafia."

"We'll escape together." Molly said, firmly. Both of the boys jumped in surprised.

"That's crazy!" Peter argued "There is no way out of here without going through a guard!"

"You said it yourself. If I don't tell Grant, he is just going to transport me. We can escape then."

"He'd drug you to take you away."

Molly looked at her bruised arms and felt the bruises on her face.

"There isn't a vein to put it in that would work well enough. There is too much blood at the surface making these bruises. The drug has to work well and giving it to me in my state of being could make it possible for the drugs to not have a big enough effect. He wouldn't threaten all of this planning for that. No, he is going to bind me and put something over my head. He won't hurt me to knock me out because them he could give me brain damage. He needs my brain to remember." Molly said, staring at the wall. To the boys it looked like she had gone crazy and was talking to herself.

"How do you know that is what is going to happen?" George asked.

"Trust me." She said looking at both of them with fire in her eyes, "I may not be as smart as Sherlock, but I am not stupid. I am getting us out of here one way or another."


	6. Chapter 6

"Get up."

Niall came in and dragged Molly up from the floor of her cell. She was not happy to have her sleep disrupted by this rude intrusion. She had barely gotten on her feet when she was dragged down the hallway. She was put into the chair, but this time she was not tied up. Everyone surrounded her. And that is when she noticed that there were more people than usual.

"What's going on?" Molly asked, looking around. None of the men would meet her eye.

"Oh, just a surprise" Grant said, walking up to the chair where she was sitting.

"I hate surprise." Molly said looking at him.

"Oh, some sass from the prisoner. I love the sassy ones."

Molly just rolled her eyes and waited for Grant to explain what was really going on.

"I still have a day left." Molly said

"I don't care anymore." Grant said, looking at her. "You are just some stupid girl. You don't have information that I want. You never did. So we are changing our tactics. If you won't tell me where he is, we will have him come to us."

"He won't."

"What makes you think that? I'd come save my girlfriend if she was in trouble." Grant said, smirking.

"I'm not his girlfriend though."

"Whatever. You know him, and that is enough"

"It's not"

"SHUT UP!" Grant said, smacking her.

"He won't come and get me. So you will either have to kill me or let me go. Which one is it going to be?" Molly said, holding her jaw and looking up at Grant.

"No." Grant said, trying to calm himself "Now we get to have some fun with things."

Molly felt hands grab onto her wrist and hold them down. She began to fight back, but it was no use. She couldn't overpower them. She saw Grant standing there, smiling as a black cover was lowered over her head.

"What are you doing?" Molly asked. She was in a dressing room. She had been forced to drink some alcohol and she was feeling a little hung over. She had a headache and the lights were hurting her eyes. She looked down to see that she was wearing a strapless dress in midnight blue. The bottom of it puffed out. It looked like what she would call a 'princess dress'. It was rather low cut for her taste and the only thing on her back was a piece of ribbon lacing the back of the dress up. She shuddered.

There was a woman with tan skin and black hair, standing around her, putting makeup over her bruised face. She looked at herself in the mirror. The women had done a good job at covering up her hurt face. She had bright lipstick on and her eyes had been done up. She looked more like a rich women then herself.

"Why are you doing this?" Molly asked turning to look at the women.

The women just started at her.

"Can you hear me?"

The women nodded her head.

"Can you physically talk?"

Another nod.

"Are you allowed to talk to me?"

The women shook her head.

"Did Grant tell you not to talk to me?"

The woman nodded her head. She began to put Molly's hair up in an elaborate design when Grant came in. The women immediately dropped Molly's hair and retreated into the corner of the room.

"It isn't nice to come into a women's room when she is getting ready." Molly said, looking the mirror in front of her.

"When you are done" Grant said, looking at the women "I will meet her at the door"

The women just nodded. When Grant had gone, she came back over and started working on Molly's hair. Soon she was done. She helped Molly into a pair of high heels (which Molly promptly fell in). When Molly was ready to go (and when she had gotten a little better at walking in her shoes) she led her to the door. She made a sign for Molly to wait there. Molly just nodded and watched her walk away. When the woman was out of sight, she looked at her surroundings. She was standing in a hallway that looked like it belonged in a palace or in a fancy hotel. The walls looked like dark red velvet and the floor had an elaborate design on the tile. Instead of normal lights there were chandeliers. The hallway was curved and one way. It didn't seem to have an ending point from where Molly was standing. She looked back the way the woman had gone. When she saw no one she began to go the opposite way the woman had gone. She walked slowly, trying to look for any way out. After a couple of minutes she came to a door. It was tall and had no marking at all on it. She slowly tuned the handle and opened the door. She suddenly felt a cold breeze on her face. 'It leads outside' she thought. She opened the door all the way to see the side of a building. 'It's an alleyway. And….it's snowing'. It was then that she realized that she could escape.

"I could get out. I could get out right now. All it takes is one step…" she whispered.

'No' she thought. 'I won't leave George and Peter behind. They helped me and I have to get them out of here. She slowly closed the door and turned around. She began to walk when she heard heavy footsteps coming down the hall. She stopped and waited to see who it was. Grant came charging around the corner.

"Where have you been?!" He yelled at her.

"I thought I would take a walk." She replied, nonchalant.

He just grabbed her arm and led her back past her dressing room all the way to the other end of the hallway. There were facing an elevator with golden colored doors. There was a design of inter-twisting lines on the door. Grant went up to the door and pushed the up button. It lit up and soon the doors opened to let them in. Before the elevator doors closed though, George and Peter walked past.

"Just keep walking" Molly leaned and whispered before the doors closed. They both looked at her and gave a little nod.

'Now' Molly thought as she and Grant went up 'where am I going?'


	7. Chapter 7

The door of the elevator opened to reveal a room full of people. It looked like the kind of room someone would have a wedding reception. The lights were dim and everyone was wearing tuxes and fancy dresses. But the most interesting thing was that everyone was wearing a mask. Most of the people just had the mask over their eye and nose but some had a mask over their whole face. As she stepped out of the elevator, everyone turned to look at her.

"I have brought the prize up!" Grant said, laughing

Everyone cheered and laughed with him. When that had died down, they all went back to their conversations.

"Don't go very far. This whole place is secure" Grant whispered to Molly. She nodded and went to walk around. People just kind of ignored her. They would look at her one moment and advert their eyes the next like she was some god or person about to be lead to a sacrifice. She was sure it was the latter. So she ambled around looking at everything in the room. There weren't any tables or food and there was nothing on the wall. It looked like they had taken everything down. She spied a terrace that looked down to a desolate street. There was no one down there. She turned to see Grant coming towards her. Her grabbed her arm and whispered fiercely "Peter and George are gone."

"Why are you telling me about it?" She said, looking at him.

"I know you told them to leave. I know you have something to do with them getting away. That just makes me happier that we are going to get rid of you tonight. "

"Get rid of me?" she said as he began to drag her into the front of the room.

"Who wants to bid on her?" Grant yelled over the crowd. All of the people stopped talking and turned to look at them.  
"Who wants her? She is a very…hard worker" Grant said smiling. Some people in the crowd began to smirk. "She can be sassy but she makes a very good….friend."

"Why are you doing this? You still don't know anything." Molly said.

Grant just chuckled "I know a lot more than you do. Your little friend Sherlock is here somewhere to save you."

"What makes you say that?"

"He wouldn't leave you here. This is a trap to make him come rescue you." Grant said smirking.

"You're going to lose." Molly said looking at him, with unwavering concentration.

"Excuse me?!" Grant said, his smile wavering. Everyone in the room was now staring and listening to Molly and Grant.

"You are going to lose. Sherlock wouldn't be here if he wasn't sure what he was going to do. And even then, he can think of something on the spot. He is smarter than any of us."

"How can you be so sure?" Grant said sneering.

"Because I believe in him; because I can see the fear in your eyes. You're afraid."

"What do you know? You're just some stupid girl."

"I know more than you think. I know you were adopted. I know that the leader of the Italian mafia was your real father and his wife wasn't your mother. I know you loved your 'brother' because he accepted you. I know you were mad at your father for ignoring you for ten years."

Grant's moth was gaping. He tried to stop Molly from talking but she just kept talking. She was on a roll.

"Your brother tried to get out of the mafia, but your father asked him to do one last job. That was when Sherlock was involved. Your brother was put into jail and your father refused to use some of the mafia money to bail him out. You hated your father for that. He let you go out of the mafia when you endangered a mission. You decided to take your vengeance on Sherlock for putting your brother in jail. And the rest is history. How stupid do I look now? "

Everyone was staring at Grant to see what he would do. He tried to say something, but then decided better. A few moments later he tried again; he failed at saying anything. Suddenly, his face started to become really red. His face scrunched up and he frowned. He took a gun out of his tux pocket and he pointed it at her head.

"How do you feel now?!" Grant yelled. He took his other hand and wrapped it around her neck. She took a sharp breath as the gun was pushed against her skull.

"Oh but I can't let you do that" said a familiar voice. Sherlock stepped away from the crowd and towards Molly. "Let her go."

"Oh" Grant said with a sneer "Our little friend has come to save the day."

Grant whistled and suddenly there was red dots pointing at Sherlock and Molly. Suddenly red dots appeared over all of the guests. Soldiers and armed people appeared from different corners. Women began to scream and men began to attempt to fight. Orders were yelled over the noise of the panicking people. Guns were put against people's heads till they all stopped yelling. Silence covered the room.

"Did you really think I wouldn't be prepared?" Grant laughed. "You will be punished for what you did to me. You get to watch your friend die."

Grant began to drag Molly out the door. Everyone in the room was silence as they watched Grant lead her out to the balcony. It was snowing and the lights casted an orange glow on the snow. The winding was howling and Molly could feel her temperature decrease. Sherlock had been lead out behind Grant and was now standing watching Molly.

"And now" Grant said, sitting Molly on the edge of the balcony rail "your friend shall fall."

Before she fell, she caught Sherlock's eye. He looked like he was trying very hard to keep his cool. But Molly could tell that he was worried. She could also tell that he had a plan. He gave her a slight nod. Then she could feel her weight being distributed backwards as she propelled down towards the cold, hard ground.


	8. Chapter 8

Molly felt something catch her hand. She quickly sound it with her other hand. In a matter of seconds she was holding whatever it was with all of her strength. She wrapped her legs around it and came to a stop. Her hands and legs hurt from the friction between her and the object. She looked to find that it was a fire hose. 'I'm dangling stories up from a fire hose'. Saying she was panicking would be an understatement.

"SHELOCK!" she yelled up at the balcony. She was a few floors below the balcony. If she hadn't been as high up she might have tried to scale the building.

"Oh, Molly. Good." Sherlock said, his face hanging over the balcony. She heard Grant yell in a rage and saw Sherlock abruptly pulled from her line of sight. She heard what sounded like a fight. There was gunfire and voices yelling.

"There is more than just Sherlock and Grant fighting. There are other people up there." Molly said to herself. She looked down and felt her stomach tighten. If she fell she was going to die. But if she stayed there it was going to be very difficult for anyone to save her. She looked at the ground one last time then began to slowly pull her way up the rope. She had gotten about a foot when she heard another voice from the balcony.

"We have the lower levels cleared Sherlock" Irene Adler yelled. Irene was coming out of the elevator to find that Sherlock was fighting with Grant. John, Lestrade, and the other police officers were trying to take out the rest of Grant's gang. 'Oh. Just in time for the party' Irene thought.

"I'm busy right now." Sherlock huffed. He was running out of breath from fighting. Irene could tell from the look on his face that making any teasing comment wouldn't do any good or be any fun for her. So she ran and joined John who was trying to get one of the people from the party to talk. Everything inside was in a state of minor chaos. The Grant's men were firing on everyone. The people from the party were cowering in a corner. After ten minutes, Grant's men gave up and the police handcuffed them.

"What have we got here?" Irene said, looking at the woman in front of her.

John motioned to the woman. "This is Caroline. She says she was invited to this party because she has a lot of money and is an old friend of Grant's. Nothing more."

"Well, I think she is lying" said Irene, looking at Caroline.

Caroline sat there is silence.

"If she doesn't want to talk then we can make her talk" Irene said.

"And how are we going to do that?" questioned John.

"Let a women do this John. You talk to the soldiers and scare them. She needs a woman's touch." Irene said, smiling. John huffed and went to talk to someone else. As soon as he was gone, Irene looked at Caroline.

"I'm going to start off very simply. How old are you?"

Caroline didn't answer.

"It won't hurt me to know how old you are."

"Nineteen" Caroline whispered.

"Thanks. Is Caroline your real name?"

She nodded.

"Now here is the part I need you to answer. Why were you here?"

Caroline just looked at her with a firm determination.

"I need to know why you came to this party. Some of these people are innocent. Most of them are not. I need to know if you need to go to jail or if I need to protect you from the mafia or something like that. So, please, tell me."

"My brothers. I came to get my brothers."

"Those two boys that showed up at the cabin to warn us about Grant?"

A nod. "They were taken from my family. My father owed the mafia money. But, being the idiot that he is, he ran from them. The mafia can be reasonable until you run away." Irene nodded. "Keep going" she whispered.

"My mother is dead now and my father is in jail for life. He murdered one of the mafia members and the court took pity on him. They knew if they let him go, that the mafia would come and kill him. So, it was just me and my brothers. We hid out in an old cabin about twelve miles from a little town in Ireland. One day, I left them at home to go to get some food from the grocery store. I wasn't there long, but when I came home there was no one there. I screamed their names and searched the house but they were nowhere to be found."

"Is that all? You just went to find them from then on? You didn't even have a starting point." Irene said. She was impressed in this girl's calm manner. She was speaking about death and kidnapping and it sounded like she talking about the weather.

"There was a note on the kitchen table. It told me that my brothers had been taken to pay for my father's debt. But unlike most mafia notes, this one was handwritten. And it was signed 'Grant' like he was mocking me. I had lost everything. So I decided to pack up my things and try and find this 'Grant'. I learned from others about his past and his involvement in the mafia. My friend Niall…"

"The red-head that was one of Grant's men?"

"Yes. He was one of the people that helped Peter, George, and I find the old cabin. He would come to the cabin and check up on us sometimes. I found him first and we went to go get Peter and George back. We traveled a lot and had some close shaves. He found out that Grant had been kicked out of the mafia and that he was looking for recruits. It was too dangerous for me to go because of my brother's so Niall signed up."

"So he went around with Grant to find Sherlock? And that is why you are here?"

"Yes."

"Ok. You're free to go."

"Can you tell me where my brothers are?"

"No. I'm not sure of their location. But I know Sherlock told them to go someplace safe. Wait here until those two," She motioned to Grant and Sherlock "are done fighting. Then we can go find George and Peter."

"Thank you."

Irene just nodded and went to see if there was anyone else who needed to be arrested/ let go. Out on the balcony things were still going as they were before. Sherlock and Grant will still fighting. Sherlock had told everyone that he was going to take care of Grant and get Molly. Frankly, that was before she was before Molly was hanging off the side of a building. But everyone decided it was best not to mess with Sherlock. He had been very determined to get Molly back himself. He  
thought it was just a feeling of guilt, but everyone else thought different. They thought that he had some sentiment towards that mousy woman.

Molly was still hanging off the side of a building and was slowly working her way to the top of the fire hose when she heard a sickening tear sound. She looked at the top where the fire hose was bolted to the balcony.

"Uh oh!" She said. The hose was starting to tear. She couldn't move upwards or the tear would become worse and downwards was not an option. She was stuck where she was.

"Sherlock!" She yelled.

"Busy!" he yelled back.

"Sherlock!" she yelled louder as the hose began to tear more. Soon it would tear completely free.

"Still busy!" he yelled back.

"SHERLOCK! THE HOSE ISN"T GOING TO HOLD!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Sherlock took one look over the balcony down at her and nodded. The noise of the fight became more intense. Suddenly she heard a big thud. She looked up for a few moments when Sherlock's head appeared again. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Molly I need you to let go of the hose."

"What?!"

"Take one of your hands and try to reach mine." He stretched his hand down towards her.

"I can't reach it!"

"Molly" he said, speaking slowly "You have to reach as high as you can. That is going to involve letting down of the rope enough to stretch. I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?"

She nodded.

"Then let go."

She slowly worked her feet out so she would have a good enough grip to keep her steady. She reached her hand out. Right as she was about to touch Sherlock's hand, the hose broke.


	9. Chapter 9

Sherlock leaned forward and caught Molly's hand. He slowly pulled her up and got her over the rail. She was standing on the ground when he legs gave out. "Whoa." Sherlock said, catching her. Her arms were around his neck and his hands were around her waist.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." She said straightening up. Her arms fell from his neck and his arms went to his sides. "I was just hanging off the side of a building. You know everyday things." She giggled nervously.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes." she said looking around, "Where's Grant?"

Sherlock looked nervously around. He ran inside and everyone turned to look at him. John, Lestrade, and Irene ran over.

"Hello sweetie. Did you have fun hanging around?" Irene asked, smiling at Molly.

"Hello Ms. Adler" Molly said. She was a little unsettled that Sherlock called Irene in to help.

Sherlock turned to glare at Irene. She just smiled bigger.

"He ran away a few seconds ago. We aren't sure where he went. He seemed to disappear. "John said.

Sherlock began to run towards the elevator. He pressed the bottom. It didn't light up. He pressed it again even harder. Still nothing. He began to pound on it.

"He shut it off. He shut the elevator off. Is there another way down?!" he yelled.

"I don't know!" John yelled.

"Well then look!" Sherlock yelled.

"Um, guys…" Molly said.

"There isn't one over there" Irene said coming back from the side of the room.

"Um… you guys…."

"Not one over there" Lestrade said.

"You guys…..I know…"

"Where are Donavan and Anderson?" Sherlock said, turning. "Have them look for a way out"

"I know where…"

"They are talking to the other people in the room making sure that they are ok."

"You guys..."

"That is ridiculous." Sherlock sneered. "They need to help us find…"

"A door" Molly said standing over to the side of the room. "There is a hidden door over here. It leads to a staircase and that is where he went down."

Sherlock ran and opened the door. He ran down the stairs with Molly following closely behind him. Irene and everyone else came after them. They ran as fast as they could down the stairs and came out in the front of the building. The snow was coming down and the wind was blowing at their faces. They saw a figure in the distance.

"We have to try and catch up with him!" Sherlock yelled.

Everyone ran after Grant. He was a good distance ahead of them but they were catching up to him. Suddenly out of his pocket, he grabbed a gun and began firing.

"Oh for God's sake" Irene said, pulling out another gun and fired back.

"Where did you get that?" John asked.

"I hid it."

"Where?"

"Do you really want to know?" Irene said looking at him. John decided better and didn't keep the conversation going. They were all running out of breath but they weren't close enough to get to Grant. Suddenly Molly began to speed up. She ran faster and faster till she caught the collar of grant's shirt. She pulled him down to the ground.

"How did you do that?" John said when they had all caught up with her.

"I was on the track team in high school." Molly huffed.

They were back at the front of the building. Everyone from the party was down. The soldiers were being put into the back of a police car. Some of the party-goers were being arrested too.

"Peter! George!" Caroline said, running towards her brothers. They were coming out of a dark jeep. Caroline ran over grabbed them into a bear hug. She began crying and kissing them. Molly watched them and smiled. They saw her and ran came over. They pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you." Caroline said looking at Molly. "I can never repay you for this."

"It was nothing."

"No. It was a lot. You saved my brothers."

"I think they saved me more then I saved them." Molly said, smiling at Peter and George.

"You gave them hope. So, thank you." Caroline gave her a hug and walked off with her brothers. She got into a small car with Niall driving and went off.

"You did a good thing here." Irene said, coming up behind Molly.

"Oh. Thanks."

"He missed you."

"What?"

"He missed you" she said, motioning to Sherlock. "Don't let him make you think otherwise. He was so worried about you. Mycroft even had to make me come to make sure he didn't do anything stupid."

"No. He wasn't worried about me." Molly said looking at Sherlock "He doesn't even know I exist except when he needs something or when I mess up."

"I don't care what he does. There something down in him that has some connection to you. He treats you different than he treats everyone else."

Molly just kept looking at her. Irene looked around and saw a limo.

"This is my ride" She said. She started to go towards the car and then came back and hugged Molly.

"Take care of him Molly" She winked and got into the car. Molly watched it drive away with a confused looked. She didn't believe what Irene had said about Sherlock. She realized then how cold she was. The wind was blowing at her and it was snowing hard. She hugged herself to keep her arms warm when she felt something being draped over her. She looked up to see Sherlock putting his coat over her shoulders.

"You looked cold" he said, looking ahead and avoiding her eye.

"Thanks"

"We should get out of here and back to the cabin." He pointed to the jeep that Peter and George had gotten out of. "This is the car." He began to reach for her hand and then thought better. He walked towards the car.

'Maybe Irene was right' Molly thought looking at her hand and then back at Sherlock.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a black room. No, now it was a cell. It was the cell she had been in before. It was dark and cold. She was in her party dress. But her hair was lying on her shoulders. She saw a figure appear. Suddenly Sherlock was in front of the bars. She tried to say something, but Sherlock just turned around and walked away. No matter how loud she screamed, Sherlock didn't turn around. She tried to grab through the bars even though she knew it wouldn't do anything. She was beginning to cry. Tears were running down her face and she was screaming, trying to make Sherlock turn around. But no matter what she did, he just kept getting smaller into the distance. Suddenly, she was in the lab back at Bart's. She was looking around when she saw something on the examining table. She looked down to see Sherlock staring up at her. What scares her was not the blood on his face or his lack of one of his limbs. What really scared her was his eyes; his cold, dead eyes looking straight at her. She woke up screaming.

She was sitting in her bed at the cabin. She was safe. Suddenly she heard footsteps coming from down the hall.

"Molly! Are you ok?!" Sherlock said, knocking the door open. He was standing in the doorway in his light blue pajamas and dark blue dressing gown. Molly was breathing deeply and tears were falling from her eyes.

"I'm….I'm fine" she breathed as more tears fell.

"What's wrong?" Sherlock asked, coming to sit beside her. He was right next to her and she felt a blush creep into her cheeks. She wasn't used to having his attention on her.

"It was a dream."

"Tell me about it" he said softly.

She gulped. "Well, I was back in the cell and it was dark. You were there but you couldn't hear me. No matter how loud I yelled you didn't turn around" A concerned look was coming onto Sherlock's face. "and then we were in the morgue. And you were…" she broke into a sob.

"I was what?"

"Dead." She cried. She was sobbing now. She couldn't stop herself. She had been strong while in the cell, but now that she didn't have to be, she felt so weak. All of her fears and worries were pouring out of her in the form of her tears. Sherlock wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't into 'feelings' and he certainly didn't know how to control them once they happened.

"It was only a dream Molly" he said gently, patting her on the back.

"I was so worried that I was going to be in that cell forever." She sobbed.

"You didn't think I was going to come and get you?" Sherlock had stopped trying to soothe her and was now looking at her with surprise.

"I don't know." She said, turning to look at him. "I didn't think I was important enough to be saved."

"Never say that again Molly Hooper!" he said, passionately. He put his hands on her shoulders and stood her up. With his hands still on her shoulders, he leaned down so that they were eye to eye.

"I would have saved you if the world was ending." He wiped a few of her tears away with his thumb. Suddenly he enveloped her into a hug. She was so surprised that she stopped crying. "You are so important Molly. Don't ever forget that." She was surprised by the way he felt. She didn't expect him to be so…warm. She knew he didn't have a heart of stone, but she had never seen him so human. She wrapped her arms around him and he hugged her even tighter. "I would have saved you now matter what. Understand?" He was looking straight at the wall like he was afraid to look at her.

"Thanks Sherlock" she whispered.

After she had calmed down, Molly decided that now was a good time to eat breakfast. Sherlock had, almost reluctantly, let her out of the hug and followed her upstairs.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Molly asked, opening the cupboards to see what food they had.

"What do people normally eat for breakfast?"

"Well, it depends. Do you want oatmeal?" she held to box for him to see.

"Nope"

"Cereal?"

"Nope"

"Bacon?"

"No"

"Sherlock" she said, turning to look at him "you have to eat something. If you don't decide then I will make something and you will have to eat it. You're not on a case, so I don't want you starving yourself. Now, how about grapefruit?"

"Don't like it?"

"Fine. I'll make coffee to drink and some toast with jam to eat."

Sherlock gave a 'hum' sound. He looked surprised.

"What?"

"That's what my mother used to make my father every morning."

Molly wasn't sure how to respond, so she just went on making breakfast. She found bread and even some blackberry jam. After she started brewing the coffee, she made Sherlock a piece of toast. When he was finished, she made him another. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, eating their toast. He was about to finish his second piece, when the timer for the coffee went off. She poured him a mug just the way he liked it (black; two sugars).

"So, where is everyone else?" she asked, making her way over to the table with Sherlock's coffee.

"Oh, they aren't here. They're gone."

"What?!" Molly said. In her surprise, she splashed some of the coffee onto Sherlock's hand. She set the mugs down quickly and went to look at his hand.

"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt" he lied.

"Let me see" Molly said, trying to grab his hand.

"No. I'm fine" he said, hiding his hand from her.

"Sherlock let me see your hand. I have to see how bad the burn is."

"I told you it's.." Molly grabbed his hand to examine it. He tried to wriggle his hand away, but she held on tight to his wrist. Finally he gave up and let her see it. It was red and Sherlock flinched when her fingers brushed across it. She took him by the wrist and led him over to the kitchen sink. She started to roll his sleeve up when he pulled his hand back.

"What are you doing?"

"When people get burnt, you put the burnt area under some cool water to help the skin heal. The burn doesn't look that bad, so this is the only thing we can do for it." She replied.

"Why were you rolling my sleeve up?"

"I didn't want to get your pajama sleeve all soggy under the water. Now can you please give me your hand?"

He pouted but gave her his hand. 'He looks like a little kid when he does that' she thought as she very gently put his hand under the water. She giggled, thinking about Sherlock as a child. He gave her an odd look, but she just shook her head. She wasn't going to tell him what she was thinking. He could probably take a guess.

"So…..where did everyone go?" Molly asked, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" Sherlock hadn't been listening to her. He had been too enthralled in watching her nurse his hand. He like the way he could feel her fingers lightly going over the burnt part. He was getting a warm, fuzzy feeling spreading all throughout his body, and this time, he wasn't going to stop it.

"Where did they all go?" she said, blushing. She had seen him watching her. She wasn't sure what was going through his head.

"Well, Anderson and Donavan said that this wasn't much of a vacation, with you getting kidnapped and people coming into the cabin to try and figure out where you were. They said it was more like a war council. So after we found you, Lestrade let them go off to someplace else to vacation. John and Lestrade rode to London to get Grant and his men straightened. Because Grant had other serious crimes that were not just against this town, they had to find out where they wanted him to be put until his trial. Mycroft left and Irene, as you know, left."

"What was Irene Adler doing here?" Molly asked, trying to sound nonchalant as she dried Sherlock's hand off. Don't get her wrong, she did like Irene. She thought Irene was a very strong and independent woman who could be a lot of help. She just didn't like Irene _and _Sherlock in the same room.

Sherlock chuckled. "She came here to help find you."

"Did you invite her?"

"No." he said, smiling "Mycroft brought her in because she has had many dealings with many different mafias before. We thought she could tell us more about how the mafia worked and their weaknesses.

"Oh" She said, trying not to sound relieved "I better clean up the coffee spill."

She was about to get a towel to clean it up when the doorbell rang. She went to open it with Sherlock trailing right behind her. Now that people knew who she was and that she knew him, he wasn't going to let her do things alone. Not while he was there to protect her. Molly opened the door to find an old woman on the steps. The snow from last night had accumulated to make a good amount. The woman was all bundled up and had firewood in her hands.

"Here's some wood for the fireplace and the wood stove. I'll just put it right here" the woman said, stepping into the house. She took off the sac that she was caring on her shoulder and set that on the ground. Then she grabbed another larger sac she had set in the snow and put it into the house. Molly looked at Sherlock and he just shrugged.

"Why do we need this much firewood if we have heating?" Molly asked.

"Didn't they tell you?"

"Tell us what?" Molly asked again

"Sometimes when it gets really cold up here, the heating will stop working. We've had all the men we can afford come and look at it, but nothing has worked. Besides" she said, pointing to the sky "we're expecting a lot more snow and if you get snowed in…"

"Snowed in?!"

"It's when the snow is too deep that you can't get out of your house. Besides" the woman went on before Molly could say something "Stranger things have happened." The old woman looked at Sherlock and Molly, still in their pajamas.

"I'll, er, let you two get back to, uh, _things_" The old woman went down the sidewalk and got into the old pickup truck. One the side of the truck, in white letters it said 'Maintenance'. They watched as she drove away.

"I'll out theses by the fireplace" Sherlock said. He picked up both of the bags of wood with ease and walked away.

'I'm alone in a cabin with Sherlock Holmes and I might get snowed in here with Sherlock Holmes' Molly thought. Needless to say, she wasn't too unhappy about the situation.


	11. Chapter 11

"Come on Sherlock. It will be fun." Molly begged. They were both now dressed and they had eaten lunch. Molly was trying to talk Sherlock into walking down to the 'populated' area of the town.

"I don't want to go." Sherlock pouted. Molly thought he was acting like a child again.

"Why not?"

"It will be a tourist trap; gift shops everywhere, cheesy diners that are trying to look real, and lots of people trying to take pictures of faked landmarks. It will be boring."

"It's either that or sitting here in the cabin, doing nothing."

Sherlock had to admit that she did have a point. He signed and went to get his coat. Molly smiled and went to get her coat, hat, and gloves. Sherlock gave her a 'Really? All that for a little walk?' look.

"I get cold." She said. "Anyways, the snow isn't coming down too bad so we'll get back before it really starts to come down." Sherlock just nodded and went out the door. When he had locked the front door, they went on their way. They had been walking for awhile down the dirt path when Molly couldn't take the silence any longer,

"What's your favorite color?" she blurted.

"Molly we are not going to spend this walk talking about feelings and silly things."

"I realized something when I was in that cell. I really don't know anything about you."

"That's the way it's supposed to be." He said, getting annoyed. "People can use you to get to me. The less you know, the safer you are."

"Oh, of course. Some man will find out what your favorite color is and suddenly he will know your exact location and everything about you" she said sarcastically. "Don't you trust me? I promise I won't ask any 'deep' questions."

"I'm not sure what my favorite color is." He said after awhile. "I've never really thought of it."

"Mine's pink. What's your favorite animal?"

Sherlock sighed "I liked to see the otters at the zoo when I was really young."

"Mine a cat. I have a cat, you know. His name is Toby." Sherlock just rolled his eyes. "Favorite food?"

"Bread and butter"

"Ok then. Mine would have to be macaroni and cheese. Favorite dessert?"

"Cake"

"Ok. I liked ice cream. What's your favorite type of ice cream?"

"Vanilla"

"Me too. Favorite dog breed?"

"This is pointless Molly." Sherlock signed. He was getting tired of the questions.

"That's the point. None of these things could really be used against you. They are just random facts" she explained.

There was some silence for awhile as they kept walking. Molly could start to see the dirt road getting wider. That meant they were getting closer to town. She could see shops and a lot of restaurants. There was a flower shop and a clothing store and many other stores.

"Let's go in here" Molly said, pointing to a green house. They walked inside and were immediately welcomed by the warm, humid air. An old man came up and asked if they need any help finding something. "Oh no, we're just looking." Molly replied, politely. She walked around looking at all the flowers. She even bent down to smell some of them.

"I like Great Danes." Sherlock said suddenly. It took Molly a moment to realize that he was answering her question from before.

"I like beagles. My aunt used to have a beagle that I would play with all the time. His name was Gonzo. My aunt named him after a clown. I am not sure why she did that; she hated clowns. I never really asked." Molly could detect a small smile from Sherlock. She smiled back and went on looking at the flowers. After the flower shop they went to a gift shop, where Sherlock decided to comment on how boring the shop was. Needless to say, the owner and Sherlock got into an argument so Molly and Sherlock decided (after they were thrown out of the store) that they should find someplace else to look. Soon they found themselves outside of a restaurant. It was 6:30 and they decided that was a good time for dinner.

"You have any money?" Molly asked Sherlock.

"Enough for dinner at this place" he replied. They both walked in to find that it was practically empty.

"Why isn't anyone here?" Molly asked. There were two other tables that had people at them.

"It's the snow. Everyone is afraid they will get stuck here if they get snowed in." said the waitress. "Pick a table wherever you like. I'll get you two a candle; makes it romantic."

"Oh we aren't a couple. We don't need a….and she's didn't listen" Molly said, as the waitress walked away. Molly wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a glimmer of amusement in Sherlock when they brought the candle out.

Most of the dinner was eaten in silence. The food wasn't too bad. Sherlock even ate most of his food. Molly was happy and content. She wasn't worried; wasn't working. She was just sitting having a nice dinner. When they were finished, Molly turned to the door. She caught a glace of something white out of the window.

"Hello?" Sherlock said, answering his cell phone. "What is it John? Snow in? What do you mean you are snowed in?

"Oh no" The snow was coming down in sheets now. Molly could barely see the road from the window. Sherlock looked up and saw what she was looking at.

"Put your coat on. Get your things. We need to get out of here and back to the cabin." Sherlock grabbed her hand and pulled her out into the merciless blizzard.


	12. Chapter 12

They both ran as fast as they could against the icy winds that were trying to push them back. Molly could still feel Sherlock's hand in hers as they raced along the road. She kept running. She was getting colder and colder. The wind was making it hard to breathe. Just when she thought there was no hope of them making it back, she saw the cabin. They both rushed up to the door Sherlock unlock in and slammed the door shut. It took them both about two seconds to realize that the cabin wasn't much warmer than outside.

"The heat shut down" Molly said, sounding so defeated.

"I'll go get the firewood. You get blankets. We will have to sleep up here tonight. We won't be warm enough in the basement."

Molly didn't have time to think of the 'we' he had mentioned. She ran and got a comforter and sheet. She found an old wool blanket in the cabinet in one of the rooms and went back to the living room where Sherlock was building a fire. He had moved the couch closer to it. The couch was apparently a pull-out bed or else it was transformed by magic. Molly now understood how 'we' were going to fit on the couch.

"Why do you still have your coat on?" Sherlock asked her.

"Oh, I don't know." She took it off and immediately began to shake. Sherlock ran over to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked urgently.

"I'm cold" she replied.

"Here" he said, wrapping her in a cocoon with the comforter. "Is that better?"

She nodded and watched as he went back to the fire. She sat down on the couch and waited for him to be done making the fire. When he was, she patted the couch next to her and he sat down, pulling a blanket over his legs. They both sat there when Molly blurted "Why did you hire me at St. Bart's?" This took Sherlock by surprise. He just stared at her, very confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Why me? What made me so special?"

"You were smart."

"There was a girl who knew the periodic table by heart! I am not smarter than her."

"She was trying to show off. You were just there trying to get a job. That's why I hired you. You weren't trying to be smart; you just were."

Molly blushed and smiled. "Thanks" she whispered. "I remember how freaked out I was after I got the job. I was so excited and was on my way to my hoses when I got a call from your dear brother. I went and meet him, although I suppose some people would consider it kidnapping"

"Mycroft talked to you about me?!"

"He's talked to everyone, even Lestrade."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"He didn't offer me any money or anything. Just looked me up and down and went 'You take care of him Molly Hooper.' I just promised that I would and I was taken back to my house." She shrugged. "I didn't really think it was that important. He was your brother."

"He told you I was his brother?"

"Well, no. I just kind of guessed that part. I saw a form that the lady in the car, what was her name?...Athena, and it said 'Mr. Holmes'. That was your last name so I took it from there."

"How did you know he was my brother? He could have been my uncle or cousin."

"I was whisked out of my normal life to be taken to an abandon factory just to be told to keep an eye on you; who else loves and cars for you that much but your brother?"

"You think my brother cares for me?"

"I think he loves you very much. But, you both show it in different ways."

"How do I show it to him?"

"You stop annoying him" she smiled. He smiled too. He hadn't realized till now how much he liked the company of Molly. Sherlock looked at her. He was getting the fuzzy feeling. He was alone, with Molly Hooper. Why did that make him so happy?

"Are you still cold?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine" she lied. Sherlock could still see her shaking. He gestured for her to come closer to him. She looked confused. He gestured again. She still didn't understand what he wanted.

"Look" he said, a slight blush coming to his cheeks "if you come over here, closer to me, then some of my body heat will radiate off and make you warmer. So come over here"

Her eyes widened and she blushed deep red. He rolled his eyes and pulled her over towards him. She ended up lying on her side facing him. He lay next to her and leaned on his elbow.

"What shall we talk of now, Ms. Hooper?" his whispered. She looked into those deep blue eyes that she loved so much.

"Not sure" she whispered back.

"Any childhood stories you would like to tell?" he laughed "Since you decided earlier that you wanted to get to know me; now it's my turn."

"When I was five I fell off my bike and broke my arm." She said, looking at Sherlock

"I spent five hours at the hospital waiting to get in and waiting to get a diagnosis on my arm. My parents had wondered off. My mom went to the bathroom and my dad went to go get some lunch. So, I sat there and talked to the other people in the waiting room. I even had a nice chat with a doctor that was taking his break. He told about surgery and diseases and answered all the questions I asked him. I just remember being almost sad when I had to leave the hospital. They didn't treat me like some weird little girl there. They let me ask questions and be curious. That was when I decided I wanted to go into medicine."

"Why didn't you become a doctor? Why work with dead people?"

"It was easier for me to concentrate on my work if I wasn't worried that the person was going to die on my hands. I decided that I couldn't deal with the feeling of watching someone die."

Sherlock nodded. "When did you decide that you wanted to be a consulting detective?" she asked him.

"Well, I was really good at solving puzzles when I was a kid. That is all crimes really are; a puzzle to solve. I got a model in school because I solved this 'mystery' of someone stealing socks. It was one of the maids that were too poor to give socks to her children. So she stole them. The school helped her out and I got a medal."

"Was there a ceremony honoring you?" Molly yawned.

"Yes. It was ridiculous."

"Did your family come?"

Sherlock's face hardened. His voice had a little change. It was like he was trying to hold back an emotion. "My mother came. Of, course she was very happy and gave me a huge hug. But my father never came to anything I did. He was always too busy to come see me."

"I got a medal once" Molly said, trying to lighten the mood again "I was seven. It was for being voted the kindest girl in my class. But it was taken away when I punched Billy Turner in the nose."

Sherlock looked at her very surprised

"Why did you punch him?"

"He made fun of my friend and was physically hurting her. So, I ran over and told him to stop. He began punching me and my instincts kicked in. He bled all over. His mother called the school and called for my expulsion. The head of the school sat me down and heard my side of the story. Billy told the head that he had been hitting people and being mean. Because Billy told the truth, he was given a warning. I was too, but Billy's mother was so angry. She was a big donor to the school and we couldn't lose her money. So they took my award away. Billy and I became good friends. He works at a bank now."

"Do you visit him?" Sherlock asked, trying to sound nonchalant. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't like Molly having 'good friends' outside of his group of 'friends'.

"I get a Christmas card from him every year. He's married and has two wonderful children. When he and his wife went on their anniversary cruise a summer ago, I watch his kids." She began to yawn more and she felt herself becoming very tired.

"Go to sleep." Sherlock said. She nodded and lay there. After about a couple of seconds, Sherlock shifted his weight so that he was lying down and she was in his arms. As if on an impulse, he kissed her forehead. Sherlock and Molly were both glad that the other couldn't see their blushing faces.


End file.
